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The Hedgehog's Fate

The only other large creature that I know to have perished of the cold was the hedgehog ; but that was earlier than the desperate frost of May 17th. Almost all creatures are a little weak when they come out of hibernation, though perhaps some of the insects—queen wasps and tortoiseshell butterflies— are exceptions. The hedgehog, like the Canadian bears, grows thin. It has fed on its fat. This year two of them, which had recently emerged, were caught by a spring frost and seemed unable to muster the energy to find a warm shelter. They were found half frozen on a garden path, and though alive, they were too far gone to respond to hot cloths, hot milk and other remedies attempted by the kind-hearted gardener. We may hope—pace the gamekeepers—that such calamities were not common ; and probably they were not For myself I have seen a very lively hedgehog or two since the frosts.